System for Marking Tires During High Voltage Inspection

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional No. 63/730,610 entitled “System for Marking Tire During High Voltage Inspection” filed on Dec. 11, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

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Retread failures occur where the rubber attaching the tread to a tire carcass does not vulcanize properly during the curing stage of the retread process. Retread failures commonly occur where the tire carcass is flawed. For example, the carcass may be punctured or cut or cables or belts may be exposed. Such injuries on the tire require further evaluation and repair before the retreading process proceeds.

A leading cause of retread failures of retread tires is missed punctures during initial inspection. Modern tire inspection devices apply a voltage to the tire that causes an arc where the tire carcass has a flaw. The operator must see the arc to know where the flaw is and mark the tire carcass accordingly. In most cases, retread failures occur because the operator missed the flaw or failed to mark the proper location of the flaw. The invention described here removes human error, and increases reliability of testing and inspecting tires for retreading by automatically marking the location of flaws in the tire carcass.

Embodiments described herein include a device for marking flaws in a tire having an inspection head configured to apply a voltage to an internal surface of a tire, and an internal marking head associated with the inspection head and configured to mark the internal surface of the tire at the location of a flaw identified by the inspection head. In some embodiments, the device may further include an external marking head attached to the internal marking head and figured to mark an external surface of the tire at the location of a flaw identified by the inspection head.

A system for marking flaws in a tire having an inspection head configured to apply a voltage to an internal surface of a tire, and an internal marking head electronically connected to the inspection head and configured to mark the internal surface of the tire at the location of a flaw identified by the inspection head. In some embodiments, the system may further include an external marking head attached to the internal marking head and electronically connected to the inspection head, the external marking head being figured to mark an external surface of the tire at the location of a flaw identified by the inspection head.

Various aspects now will be described more fully hereinafter. Such aspects may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art.

Where a range of values is provided, it is intended that each intervening value between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed within the disclosure. For example, if a range of 1 ml to 8 ml is stated, 2 ml, 3 ml, 4 ml, 5 ml, 6 ml, and 7 ml are also intended to be explicitly disclosed, as well as the range of values greater than or equal to 1 ml and the range of values less than or equal to 8 ml

The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to a “surfactant” includes a single surfactant as well as two or more of the same or different surfactants.

The word “about” when immediately preceding a numerical value means a range of plus or minus 10% of that value, e.g., “about 50” means 45 to 55, “about 25,000” means 22,500 to 27,500, etc, unless the context of the disclosure indicates otherwise, or is inconsistent with such an interpretation. For example, in a list of numerical values such as “about 49, about 50, about 55, “about 50” means a range extending to less than half the interval(s) between the preceding and subsequent values, e.g., more than 49.5 to less than 52.5. Furthermore, the phrases “less than about” a value or “greater than about” a value should be understood in view of the definition of the term “about” provided herein.

By hereby reserving the right to proviso out or exclude any individual members of any such group, including any sub-ranges or combinations of sub-ranges within the group, that can be claimed according to a range or in any similar manner, less than the full measure of this disclosure can be claimed for any reason. Further, by hereby reserving the right to proviso out or exclude any individual substituents, analogs, compounds, ligands, structures, or groups thereof, or any members of a claimed group, less than the full measure of this disclosure can be claimed for any reason. Throughout this disclosure, various patents, patent applications and publications are referenced. The disclosures of these patents, patent applications and publications in their entirety are incorporated into this disclosure by reference in order to more fully describe the state of the art as known to those skilled therein as of the date of this disclosure. This disclosure will govern in the instance that there is any inconsistency between the patents, patent applications and publications cited and this disclosure.

For convenience, certain terms employed in the specification, examples and claims are collected here. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this disclosure have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

Various embodiments of the invention are directed to devices and systems that automatically mark tires during an initial inspection where retread failures can occur before retreading. Embodiments include devices that are used during the initial inspection to automatically mark the tire carcass at locations having a flaw during the high voltage non-destructive tire inspection processes. In some embodiments, the marking apparatus may be a separate device from the high voltage inspection device, and in other embodiments the marking apparatus may be fully integrated into the high voltage inspection device. In embodiments, the tire can be marked on the inside, outside, or both the inside and outside of the tire, and in some embodiments, a non-permanent marking system can be used to remove the marks after the problem areas have been repaired. In particular embodiments, the marking system may mark the tire permanently. Other embodiments are directed to methods for using the marking apparatus to mark tire carcasses before retreading.

1 FIG. 1 10 100 11 11 100 11 11 100 12 121 12 100 1 13 12 a b a b As illustrated in, the inspection station deviceof various embodiments generally includes a mountconfigured to hold and retain a tireduring inspection, and one or more rollers,positioned to contact an out surface of the tire. In some embodiments, a motor may be associated with one or more rollers,to rotate the tireduring inspection. In other embodiments, a roller system may include rollers that contact an upper surface of the tire and rotate the tire from an internal surface or the sidewall of the tire. An inspection headmay be connected to an articulating armthat allows the inspection headto be inserted into the tire. In certain embodiments, the inspection stationmay further include an internal marking systemattached to the inspection head.

2 2 220 221 222 221 220 221 222 221 222 223 223 200 221 220 200 2 FIG. a b An embodiment of an inspection headis illustrated in. The inspection headmay include a body, a high voltage electrode, and a grounding electrode(depicted directly behind the high voltage electrode). Bodycan be made from an electrically insulative material, such as non-conductive plastic. The electrodes,may be composed of a conductive material or may contain conductive materials. In some embodiments, the electrodes,may have wheels,, on one or both ends that are configured to contact tire carcassto maintain the position of the electrodes,in the tire carcass.

221 222 224 201 200 224 224 201 200 224 221 222 201 200 202 203 2 FIG. Either or both electrodes,, may have at least one probefor contacting the inner liner portionof a tire carcass. The probescan be made from any electrically conductive material, and in some embodiments, the probes may be flexible chainsas depicted in. In other embodiments, the probes may be pins, wires, brushes, or any other conductive structure suitable for creating an electric field near the inner linerof the tire carcass. The probesmay be spaced apart and staggered in a line or other suitable pattern along the electrodes,to cover a substantial portion of the inner linerof tire carcassbetween sidewall portions,.

2 225 220 225 226 202 203 225 226 220 227 225 221 226 222 225 226 202 203 202 203 202 203 225 226 2 FIG. In some embodiments the inspection headmay include one or more laterally projecting structuressuch as, for example, wire loops that may be attached to the body. The laterally projecting structures,can be arranged to the contact sidewall,, when inspection head is inserted into the tire carcass. Each wire loop,can be attached to the bodywith a clamping structure. As illustrated in, a portion of the wire loopsare connected with high voltage electrodeand a portion of the wire loopscan be connected to the grounding electrode. This arrangement of electrodes,allows an electric field to be applied to the sidewalls,to detect flaws in the sidewalls,. The person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other conductive flexible structures can be positioned for contacting sidewalls,and can be substituted for wire loops,.

200 11 11 2 204 205 200 2 200 223 223 221 222 202 203 200 221 222 200 221 222 2 223 223 224 221 222 200 225 226 202 203 a b a b a b 1 FIG. 2 FIG. In operation, the tire carcasscan be positioned on rollers,, illustrated inand inspection head, illustrated in, can be positioned between bead portions,, of the tire. The inspection headis suspended in the inner cavity of the tire, and lowered until wheels,of the electrodes,contact the sidewalls,of the tire. In some embodiments, the electrodes,can pivot after entering the inner cavity of the tire, allowing the electrodes,to have a vertical orientation giving the inspection headto have a narrow profile during insertion and an extended profile during use where the electrodes have a horizontal orientation in which the wheels,, and probesof the electrodes,are in contact with inner surface of tire carcass. Wire loops,extend laterally to contact sidewalls,of the tire.

3 3 320 321 322 321 322 224 223 223 221 222 220 2 3 321 322 2 224 223 223 3 321 322 3 3 FIG. 2 FIG. 3 FIG. 2 FIG. 3 FIG. a b a b Another embodiment of the inspection headis illustrated in. In such embodiments, the inspection headmay include a bodythat can be made from an electrically insulative material, such as non-conductive plastic, a high voltage electrode, and a grounding electrode. In this embodiment, the electrodes,may be composed of wire loops of a conductive material. Referring to, the person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eliminating the chainsand wheels,associated with the electrodes,reduces vibration of the bodyand other support structures associated with inspection head. As such, embodiments of the inspection headhaving wire loops,, as illustrated in, are more stable and accurate than inspection headshaving chainsand wheels,, as illustrated in. In addition, inspection headshaving wire loops,, as illustrated inimprove the accuracy of inspection stations incorporating the internal and external marker heads discussed below. Moreover, the flexibility of the wires adjusts to the contour of the tire allowing the inspection headto accommodate tires with different levels of wear or tread depth.

312 322 320 327 321 322 3 321 322 3 321 322 300 321 322 3 321 322 3 3 FIG. The wire loops,of embodiments illustrated incan be attached to the bodyby a clamping structure. In various embodiments, the number of wire loops,incorporated into the inspection headmay be between 5 and 10 wire loops,or any number or range encompassed by these numbers, and in certain embodiments, the inspection headmay include 8 wire loops,. The length of each wire loop may be the same for each loop or different depending on the width and depth of the internal cavity of the tire. In embodiments, the length of the loops may be about 8 inches to about 20 inches, about 10 inches to about 15 inches, or any length or range encompassed by these example ranges. This arrangement allows a wire loop to form a continuous contact area across the internal width of the tire carcassand the side walls leaving no gaps. In other embodiments, the arrangement of wire loops,can produce a gap between contact areas of the wire loops of up to about 0.75 inches without impacting the accuracy of the inspection head. In certain embodiments, each wire loop may be the same length and the length may be about 14 inches. In some embodiments, the number and length of the wire loops,can be adjusted to accommodate tire sizes ranging from 14 inches to 24.5 inches in rim diameter with a single inspection head.

3 321 328 321 327 328 327 328 321 321 a b a b a b In some embodiments, the attachment points of the wire to the clamping structure may improve stability of the wire loops during contact with the tire carcass. For example, in some embodiments wire loops directed to the middle of the tire carcassmay be attached to the back of the clamping structure, contact points. In some embodiments, wire loops directed toward the side wallmay be secured to the clamping structurewith the one end of the wire loop attached to the front of the clamping structure, contact point, and and the other end of the wire loop attached to the back of the clamping structure, contact point. This arrangement may allow the wire loops,to maintain contact with the inner liner of the tire carcass at the shoulder area.

227 327 221 222 225 226 321 322 225 226 321 322 227 327 225 226 321 322 The clamping structure,of embodiments may be composed of any material that is capable of holding the electrodes,and wire loops,,,, including for example, conductive materials such as steel or aluminum. The contact points may be configured and machined to accept and hold the wire loops,,,and can be composed of the same or a different conductive material. In some embodiments, acrylic sheets may be applied to each side of clamping structure,to hold the wire loops,,,in place.

224 225 226 321 322 2 3 200 300 221 321 221 321 11 11 200 300 224 225 226 321 322 200 300 221 321 200 300 204 200 222 224 225 226 205 206 204 224 225 226 200 2 200 2 3 321 322 a b 2 FIG. In use, when the probesand wire loops,,,of the inspection head,are positioned in tire carcass,, high voltage is applied to high voltage electrodeor wire loops, thereby creating an electrical field about high voltage electrodeor wire loops. A rotary drive motor rotates rollers,, causing tire carcass,to rotate. The probe chainsand wire loops,or the wire loops,slide along the inner liner of the tire carcass,applying the electrical field from high voltage electrode,to the inner liner of the tire carcass,. Inductive coupling takes place between the steel beltsof the tire carcass, producing an electrical potential with respect to grounding electrode, as illustrated in. When the probesand wire loops,contact a flaw in the tire, such as inner liner defector through hole, an arc passes through the flaw between the steel beltsand the probesand wire loops,, indicating the presence of the flaw. Once a complete rotation of tire carcasshas been made the inspection headcan be removed from the tire carcassand the inspection headcan be prepared to test another tire. This same process occurs for inspection headshaving wire loops,.

3 300 321 322 320 327 321 322 3 FIG. 2 FIG. The person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the only part of the insertion headofthat will contact the inner liner of the tire carcassis the wire loops,when the insertion head is deployed. The bodyand clamping devicethat supports the wire loops,is “floating” over the tire, eliminating any vibration generated on the traditional chain and wheel system illustrated in. Additionally, the flexibility of the wires adjusts to the contour of the tire and also to multiple heights to accommodate tires at different levels of wear or tread depth.

4 FIG. In some embodiments, the arc caused by a flaw in the tire carcass may cause the rotary motor to stop by the action of a current transformer that detects the change in potential caused by the arc and turns the rotary motor off. The operator must see the arc to locate the flaw and is required to hand mark the location of the flaw. In particular embodiments, marking can be carried out automatically using the device illustrated in.

4 FIG. 400 41 41 40 400 42 43 400 430 431 432 433 434 430 432 400 a b shows an inspection head deployed in the cavity of a tire carcassduring tire testing. The rollers,and mountare illustrated engaging a tire carcassarticulating armis holding the inspection headin place in the cavity of the tire carcass. The marking system may include an internal marking headequipped with an internal markerand an external marking headequipped with an external marker. A support structureconnects to the internal marking headand external marking headmaintaining their position relative to one another such that marking occurs on the inner liner of the tire carcassand the external side wall of the tire carcass at the same position.

430 432 43 430 432 431 433 401 402 400 In some embodiments, the internal marking headand the external marking headmay be electrically connected to a current transformer associated with the inspection head. In operation, the internal marking headand the external marking headcan be triggered when the current transformer detects a flaw in the tire causing the internal markerand the external markerto mark the inner linerand the external sidewallof the tire carcassat the location of the flaw.

430 432 430 432 431 433 400 430 432 In some embodiments, the internal marking headand the external marking headmay be connected to one or more amplifiers, resistors, relays, printed circuit boards, and the like and combinations thereof that increase the magnitude of the current transformer signal. In some embodiments, the internal marking headand the external marking headmay be connected to one or more optical sensors positioned to detect the arc generated by a flaw in the tire carcass and trigger the internal and external markers,to mark the tire carcass. In certain embodiments, the internal marking headand the external marking headmay be connected to a printed circuit board (“PCB”) designed to measure a change in voltage. Such PCB may include, for example, a voltage divider circuit to scale the input voltage to a suitable range, an analog-to-digital converter to convert the analog voltage signal to a digital value that can be read by a microcontroller, and necessary circuitry to handle the specific voltage range and desired accuracy of the measurement. The PCB may enhance the signal from the current transformer improving the accuracy of the internal and external marking heads.

43 430 432 43 430 432 In some embodiments, the PCB, amplifiers, resistors, relays, and the like may be integrated into a programmable logic controller (“PLC”) to fully automate the marking process by coordinating the inspection head, rotary motor, and internal and external marking heads,. For example, in some embodiments, the PLC may cause the rotary motor to stop when a flaw is detected, pausing the inspection process. This pause may be carried out for sufficient time for the PCB to reset itself before the PLC causes the inspection head, rotary motor, and internal and external marking heads,to resume the test. In some embodiments, the PLC may delay marking until the inspection process is paused. When the markers react immediately after a flaw is detected, marks can be smeared; however, delaying marking too long causes smearing as the tire resumes rotation before the marking is complete. In further embodiments, the PLC may reduce the occurrence of errant marking during the activation process.

431 433 433 400 431 431 400 431 433 400 431 433 431 433 The internal and external markers,can be configured to mark the tire using any method known in the art, including, for example, sprayers, dabbers, stampers, dot peen markers, pad printers, lasers, and the like and combinations thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the external markercan be a sprayer to mark the external surface of the side wall of the tire carcass, and the internal markermay be a dabber. In such embodiments, the internal markermay include dabber or stamp attached to a piston or actuator that moves the dabber or stamp relative to the internal liner of the tire carcass. When the piston or actuator is activated the dabber or stamp may be moved toward the internal liner until contact is made transferring ink or paint on the dabber or stamp onto the internal liner at the location of a flaw. In some embodiments, the internal and external markers,may further include a reservoir containing ink or paint that replaces ink transferred to the internal liner by the dabber, stamp, or sprayer and the external sidewall of the tire carcass. In other embodiments, an external reservoir may feed ink or paint to the internal and external markers,. In such embodiments, the reservoir may be pressurized, and in some embodiments, the reservoir may be self-cleaning to avoid clogging of the internal and external markers,.

431 433 400 Any ink or paint known in the art can be used by the internal and external markers,to mark the tire carcass. In certain embodiments, the ink or paint may be water based to avoid inadvertently igniting the ink or paint when high voltage is applied to the marked area.

530 500 530 531 535 531 534 524 535 530 524 5 FIG. 5 FIG. The internal marking headis illustrated indeployed in a tire carcass. The marking headincludes an internal markerattached to a marking head probe armconnecting the internal markerto support structure. In some embodiments, the marking head may be separate and apart from the inspection head (not shown). In other embodiments, as illustrated in, the probeportion of the inspection head may be attached to the marking head probe arm. The person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a marking headwith an integrated inspection head probemay reduce the number and overall size of the components deployed during tire inspection, improving mobility of these components.

535 535 534 524 635 651 652 635 635 635 635 653 635 6 FIG. The marking head probe armof embodiments may include an integrated means for attaching the marking head probe armto the support structureand the inspection head probe. As illustrated in, the marking head probe armmay include, for example, tapped holesconfigured to receive a screw or bolt or recessesconfigured to receive a fastener, for attaching the inspection head probe to the marking head probe armand the marking head probe armto the support structure. In some embodiments, the internal marker can be attached to marking head probe armusing tapped holes. In other embodiments, the marking head probe armmay include slotted holes or arc slotsthat allow the internal marker to pivot, allowing the operator to align the internal marker relative to the inspection head probe to avoid interference with the detection device. The marking head probe armmay be composed of any suitable material such as, for example, steel, aluminum, plastic, nylon, teflon, and the like or combinations thereof.

531 524 1 FIG. Among other benefits, including reducing the size the of the inspection and marking apparatuses and ease of deployment, associated with the use of a marking head probe arm having both the marking head probeand the probeportion of the inspection head, is reduction on vibration on the probes as the tire rotates during the inspection process. In many prior art devices the inspection head is directly attached to the mount, which also holds the rollers. As the rollers rotate the tire the inspection head vibrates. Reducing or eliminating vibration of the inspection head by attaching it to a support structure that is not attached to the mount improves the precision of the inspection head making marking more accurate and reducing the time required to repair the identified flaws. In the context of the electrode and chain embodiments, as illustrated in, reducing vibration associated with direct attachment of the inspection head to the mount reduces or eliminates incidents of false positives caused by the multiple arcs caused by the same flaw when more than one chain is dragged over the same flaw.

The device and system discussed above significantly reduces the time required to perform high voltage inspection of tire carcasses while reducing the number of flaws missed by visual inspection and the overall incidence of retread failures. In some embodiments, the system may perform the inspection process described above and mark the areas of interest in under 45 seconds for up to four injuries. In other embodiments, the system may perform the inspection process described above and mark the areas of interest in under 30 seconds for up to four injuries. Thus, the devices and systems of various embodiments described above may perform tire inspection and marking about 2 to about 4 or about 5 times faster than a human performing the same task.